How to smartly manage network shares? On-premises network share self-service

Network shares provided to employees might seem like a simple and commonly used solution in many companies, posing no challenge for experienced administrators. However, things get complicated when multiple users are assigned to multiple groups. Navigating through a complex web of permissions can be difficult, making it hard to determine what access User A will have when they belong to Groups X, Y, and Z. Manually managing dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of folders while assigning different permissions to each quickly becomes an impossible task. First, maintaining the correctness of permissions across such a large number of folders is challenging, and second, over time, knowledge about who should have access to which folder tends to fade.

With complex organizational structures in mind, we have developed FSM (File Share Manager)—a tool that simplifies network file share management for administrators, allowing efficient management of shared resources among multiple users.

On-premises network share self-service simplifies administrator's work

FSM is a network share self-service application where every employee in the organization can use a web interface to add, modify, or delete network shares. Any changes to network share parameters require approval from an assigned administrator. Additionally, it is possible to define a disk quota limit for each share.

FSM maintains a database of shared folders with assigned permissions and ensures their accurate reflection on the disk. If permissions are changed directly on the disk, FSM corrects them accordingly. The web application processes requests for new shares and modifications, while the actual changes are executed in the background by system services.

With semi-automated network file share management, adding a new share, modifying permissions, or setting a new quota requires minimal administrator involvement. Users define the parameters of their request and submit it for approval, and the administrator can accept or reject the request with a single click.

Optimizing network share storage space

FSM provides extensive insights for both users and administrators, including:

• A list of network shares with NTFS permissions
• A list of files and folders for each share
• A list of unused network resources
• A list of orphaned files left behind by departed employees

These insights make it easy to identify and remove resources that haven't been used for an extended period but still occupy valuable storage space. It also helps detect files without an owner, optimizing disk space usage and maintaining a well-organized file server.

File Share Manager is a web application installed on Microsoft IIS 7/8/10 servers and uses MS SQL 2012/2016/2019 databases. The entire system is deployed in the client’s environment (On-Premises). Additionally, FSM integrates with Windows Server FSRM (File Server Resource Manager) for enhanced resource management.